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County Commissioners Respond To Audit’s Findings

The Roosevelt County commissioners report that they are working on improvements after findings were made in the county’s audit report ending in June, 30, 2021.

Two of the findings by Olness & Associates, of Billings, regarded the community of Brockton. One was that capital assets, accumulated depreciation and depreciation expense should be recorded in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted.

The commissioners’ official response is that they have developed a capital asset list for the community of Brockton and will ensure the balances are recorded within the accounting records.

Another finding concerning Brockton was that most individual receivable balances are delinquent in excess of 90 days.

The county’s response is that once the county has a MOU with the Fort Peck Tribes Enterprise to shut off and turn on service lines for lack of payment, an ordinance will be adopted by the county.

“We are working on a plan,” Oelkers said of the water services.

The audit noted that the road/ bridge department contracted multiple gravel crushings in fiscal year 2021. Two contracts, each in excess of over $80,000, were let without going through the formal bid process.

The county’s official response regarding the gravel purchases is that the pit is the only one the county could get gravel from for the east end of the county that is within 50 miles. There is a limited amount of gravel on the east end of the county. The pit is already DEQ approved.

The audit also found that two funds were overspent for the year that ended on June 30, 2021. Expenditures exceeded appropriations in the Alcohol Rehab and HB645 funds.

The county’s response was, “Commissioners decided to give all employees a stipend out of the CARES Act funds as a thank you for working during the pandemic. A line item was set up for payroll only. No resolution was done to create an appropriation. These funds will probably not be used for any purpose like this in the future. The Alcohol and Drug fund is just a pass-through fund for monies received from the state. We don’t receive anything telling us how much we are going to be receiving, so the appropriation is just a guess.”

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